Six Nations 2016 Preview Part 1: ENGLAND – IRELAND – WALES
by Paul Cook -
The final round of last year’s Six Nations produced arguably the single greatest day in the sport’s history, such was the drama, excitement and quality of rugby on offer across three nail-biting try-fests. It’s fanciful of course to expect a similar denouement to this year’s version, but a look at the draw, the relative challenges faced by each side and the parity across the board of the main contenders, tends to suggest that it may indeed come down to the wire once again.
While individual glory for each nation is uppermost in their minds, it is also a chance for Northern Hemisphere rugby en masse to restore some much needed pride after the travails of last year’s World Cup. The fact that the semi-finals were contested purely by those sides that make up the Rugby Championship was a major slap in the face for the European powerhouses, and hopefully a wake-up call to arms that they have to change both their approach and their mindset if they are to trouble the